


It Takes More Than Ten Tickles

by indigomini



Series: Tentacles Kaisoo [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Character(s), Alien Culture, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Aliens, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-21 20:56:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11365473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigomini/pseuds/indigomini
Summary: Kyungsoo is in training at the Galactic Fleet Aquatic Station. It's kind of lonely when you stand out. But maybe an Arctocephan classmate can help.





	It Takes More Than Ten Tickles

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, this is kind of just...fluff that has like no point, I just...yeah.

"Thanks," the pretty guy says, handing the pen back to Kyungsoo. He flashes a toothy smile, eyes crinkling up in the corners. Ohh, that's so cute, Kyungsoo is cooing internally— "Did you make it yourself, by the way?"

Kyungsoo blinks, confused. "...What?" he eventually manages to ask.

"The ink," the guy says, looking back down at the pen pointedly. "Did you make it?"

He feels the sneer pulling his lip up subconsciously. "That's racist," Kyungsoo snaps, eyes furrowing in a disappointed glare.

The guy sputters. "W-what?" he asks. "I was just asking!"

"You gonna tell me the joke now?" Kyungsoo asks. "Go ahead, get it over with."

"...Huh?"

He sighs, waiting expectantly. Or he supposes he'll just feed him the line. " _ How many tickles does it take _ ..." he starts, cycling his hands slowly.

"Oh!" the guy barks, clapping his hands together. "Ten tickles! Tentacles! Ha! I knew that one!" He bursts out in a shrill, loud laugh as he slaps the surface of his table.

Kyungsoo is definitely not amused by the joke. The guy realizes this a lot quicker than he would've guessed, turning appropriately bashful as he chews on his bottom lip. "And no, I  _ bought _ that ink. It's archival standard," Kyungsoo adds.

"I didn't mean it to be...offensive..." the guy mumbles, looking down at his hands. "I didn't know..."

He lets out a long sigh and starts piling his supplies into his bag. "It's fine," Kyungsoo says to his desk. Better to just head back to his room, stew, and miss home than to alienate more classmates.

The station is liveable, of course. One can survive here. Everyone can survive here, which was the whole point. But that doesn't mean it's particularly pleasant to live outside of the water and have to breathe in humid, oxygen loaded air as a substitute. It's doable. It's necessary if one wants to advance their career in the Galactic Fleet. But if Kyungsoo had to hear one more joke about his limbs, or making his own ink, or whatever other stupid stereotypes people have built up around his species just because he resembles some Earth Prime creatures, he's going to show them just how many people he can simultaneously choke with said tentacles.

"Wait, hey!" cries a familiar voice, and Kyungsoo slows to a stop just as the guy from class barrels a meter past him and backtracks. "I'm sorry!" he repeats, clutching all of his paperwork in his hands. "I wasn't trying to insult you, I promise!"

"I know," Kyungsoo says, unable to hold the sigh back. "I said it was fine. I just get it a lot."

The guy clears his throat. "Umm," he says. "If it makes you feel better...I would probably get that a lot too..." He chews on the inside of his lip as Kyungsoo gives him a confused look. The moment grows more awkward as it drags on, before the guy glances around nervously and reaches up to tug the hat off of his head, running his fingers through his hair to fluff it out. Two small ears pop up from the mussed, brown mop, fuzzy gray in color and floppy. They're only visible for a moment before the hat slides back on, and the guy pushes a finger underneath to tuck the tip of one of the ears back in place.

"You're a—," What the hell is that word... He can't recall the names of a lot of nonaquatic species. "A dog?"

The guy bristles, straightening up his spine and scrunching his brows. "I am  _ not _ !" he exclaims, the volume shocking himself, and he curls inward in embarrassment. "I'm an Arctocephan. We're not even Chimeras. Our aural extensions just...resemble Earth Prime seal ears."

"Gee, that must be so hard for you," Kyungsoo says dryly. He shifts his weight onto his rear tentacles and stares unsympathetically. He may have similar skin tones to Primelings, but there's no disguising what he is.

The guy is unamused, scowling at Kyungsoo before his eyes dip low enough to catch the movement and he looks away, properly abashed. "I guess you can't exactly hide, huh?" he mumbles to the floor.

"Not really," Kyungsoo says. "Not that I'd want to. I'm not ashamed."

"Well, I'm not either," the guy rushes to clarify. "It's just...easier...than having to sit there and...explain that you're not...well, you get it, obviously..."

"Yup."

The guy purses his lips, looking down at his feet. Aside from the little ears, he looks humanoid enough that he could've passed for a Primeling aside from the slate gray skin, which Kyungsoo guesses was the whole point behind the hat. "My name's Jongin," he says finally.

"Kyungsoo," he answers.

Jongin clicks his tongue. "I'm sorry again, by the way," he says, looking straight into his eyes for emphasis.

It's his turn to blush now, under that sincere look. "I said it was fine," Kyungsoo mutters. "Anyway, I gotta...go."

"Oh, right!" Jongin exclaims, too loudly again before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry. Um. I'll see you later."

He watches Jongin shuffle backward awkwardly before spinning around and walking off. That ended surprisingly well.

—

His roommate is getting out of control. Just because Kyungsoo does not require much space to sleep doesn't mean Baekhyun can spread all of his junk out in their pod. Kyungsoo flicks one of his tentacles through the water, sending a headset floating back off toward Baekhyun's side. He turns to his corner and propels back under the black dome of his bed. Like most Pulpoans, he enjoys sleeping in cramped, dark places. Their home world is comprised of a large, cavernous network of tunnels and caves. Why the Galactic Fleet decided to pair him with a Lutran like Baekhyun then, is a question that might never go answered. Or perhaps the answer is simply that the Galactic Fleet doesn't care, and the assignment was simply random.

Kyungsoo flicks his legs to whip up a small current, just enough to carry away Baekhyun's stray fur. It's everywhere, and it gets in everything.  _ Rude otter _ , he finds himself thinking uncharitably before feeling remorseful and curling up under his dome.

His communicator thrums against his wrist, startling him from sleep. Kyungsoo whirls in place, groggily pulling it toward his eyes and waiting for them to focus. The hologram comes to life above his arm, displaying Jongin's face.

"Hey!" the hologram chirps. "You busy?"

Kyungsoo garbles out some incoherent sound and clears his throat. His translator brace is still in his bag. Whoops. He quickly pulls the dome back and kicks off for the surface of the pod, wiping the droplets out of his eyes and slicking his hair back. "No," he repeats. "What's up?"

"Oh crap, did I wake you?" Jongin's face falls, his little ears drooping.

"Don't apologize!" Kyungsoo warns before Jongin can have a chance to get it out. They've been talking for a couple of weeks now, and he's discovered that as giggly and dorky as Jongin is (and oh, his  _ laugh _ ), he has a penchant for turning into a shy little seal pup at a second's notice, and starts apologizing for every possible infraction.

Jongin blushes. It's so cute, and he's pretty sure Jongin doesn't realize when he does it, it makes his ears stick up a little. He doesn't cover them when he's alone or around Kyungsoo, but even when he's in public and under the cover of the hat, it'll lift a bit from the ears.  _ So _ cute. "Do you want to go see the coral gardens?" he asks shyly. "They brought some new stuff there today."

"What kind of new stuff?" Kyungsoo asks.

“Uh….new...coral…” Jongin says slowly, sounding embarrassed at having to spell it out. 

“Oh,” Kyungsoo says, blushing a little bit himself. He clears his throat. “Yeah, that'd be great.”

The coral garden is actually underwater, unlike the majority of the public spaces on the station. For the most part though, Kyungsoo has been avoiding it ever since some prey species saw him there and got scared. Even after all their advancements and treaties and everything, some people still feel weird when around predator species. Like Kyungsoo would just lasso a classmate and snap their head off in Navigation or snack on his partner in Zero Gravity Training. It’s not like the species of fish that they serve in the mess are any sentient ones. Even fish eat fish, he thinks to himself as he makes his way down the tunnels.

The entrance to the gardens has two pillars, where they’ve activated a force field. Taking one more step forward means stepping into a full water enclosure from their humid hallway. From here, he can see the gardens are empty. Perfect. Kyungsoo lets out a happy sigh before crouching down and leaping into the gate, spiraling through the water nearly five meters up before stretching his limbs out as the artificial gravity slowly pulls him back down. There’s just no substitute for being in water. In the last eight months that he’s been here, Kyungsoo’s acquired a reputation as a hermit and unsocial, but really, he just doesn’t want to deal with people’s judgement, and he just really wants to be in water. That really narrowed his options down to...just his own room. 

He turns as a splash announces a newcomer. Kyungsoo barely manages to catch a glimpse before Jongin is already by his side, swimming donuts around him. He’s barefoot, webbed feet that are nearly flippers proudly on display as he kicks around.

“How long have you been waiting?” Jongin asks, voice filtering through clearly. He has his translator brace already in then. 

Kyungsoo digs his out of his pocket and jams it into his mouth, shuffling it into place behind his teeth. “I just got here,” he replies.

Jongin flashes a brilliant smile. “Race you,” he says, an instant before he flips through the air and zooms off deeper into the coral.

In a fair race, Jongin would win. But Kyungsoo’s species is built for speed. He spreads his tentacles out and gathers water, taking a deep breath in through his gills before shooting forward, going right past Jongin and clearing a good distance between them. “Jet propulsion, seal boy,” Kyungsoo teases, once Jongin’s finally caught up.

He gets no witty comebacks. Instead, Jongin swims right up to him, snags one of his tentacles, and drags him along, veering a sharp turn around some older growth. It’s a strange feeling, having someone just...touch one of his limbs, and especially so freely, but he’s learned to slowly accept that Jongin just isn’t as skeeved out as other people. It still makes it hard to swim though, and he  _ knows _ Jongin knows that and is doing it on purpose so he can’t jet ahead again.

“ _ Look _ , Soo,” the Arctocephan says, sounding awed as he loosens his grip, allowing Kyungsoo’s tentacle to slip free. Ahead of them is a plot of glowing coral, in all different colors. “They said this is from Pulpo.”

He can't help the smile, so Kyungsoo covers his mouth with his hands as he sinks down to the ground for a closer look. Bioluminescent coral, some pulsing through different color cycles, glowing neon in the dimly lit area. “It is,” he says.

“So this is what your home looked like?” Jongin asks, settling next to him. He leans close to an orange one and sniffs it curiously.

“Yeah…” Kyungsoo says, feeling a confusing wave of happiness and...a tightening in his chest all at once. His family. He shakes his head, trying to clear the morose thoughts. “We live in caves. These lit them, for the most part.”

“That's really cool.”

Jongin grabs one of his tentacles again and tugs him along the walkway. It's hard to stay balanced on three, so Kyungsoo just floats and lets himself be pulled, his free tentacles helping him along as Jongin circles around some sparkly rocks and brings them before a holo:

_ Gifted to the Galactic Fleet Aquatic Training Station by the Pulpoan Chancellor, Seungsoo Do. _

“His name...sounded like yours,” Jongin starts, looking nervous. “I mean, I'm not trying to insinuate anything. I just saw Pulpo and got excited and then the name and—”

“He's my brother,” Kyungsoo offers, swatting at Jongin's hand with the tentacle he still grasped.

“Wow, I didn't know he's a Chancellor,” Jongin says. “...Or that you have a brother.”

Kyungsoo’s smile feels bittersweet. “I didn't know he became Chancellor either,” he says. “But he was climbing the ranks when I left to join the GF. So...wow. I'm...I'm really glad.”

He's pulled into Jongin's embrace. It's a bit startling, but Kyungsoo allows it, even leaning into Jongin's chest and hearing his heartbeat. “Maybe he donated the coral for you,” Jongin says, stroking his back gently. It's so soothing. “So you can have a little bit of home here with you while you're in training.”

His heart clenches, and Kyungsoo's arms tuck into Jongin's sides, wrapping around his lower back as he hides his face against Jongin's shirt. At least in water, there is no making out tears. “Thank you,” he says softly.

“Don't thank me,” Jongin says. “I just wanted to show you pretty rocks.”

Kyungsoo lets out a weak laugh. “They're not rocks," he says. One of his tentacles wraps around Jongin's legs on reflex, and he goes to pull away, but Jongin grabs his waist and lifts him closer, allowing all of his tentacles to wind around Jongin's limbs. It's so comforting, being able to embrace someone like this. People get freaked out. The cover of his pod got loosened one night and he woke the next morning wrapped around a terrified Baekhyun. “They're animals too,” he says, squeezing Jongin's waist.

“You're so snuggly,” Jongin says.

Kyungsoo clicks his tongue and loosens his hold. “ _ Don't… _ ” he warns.

“You're so cute,” Jongin continues, smiling against his skin. “So squishy.”

He constricts one of his tentacles around Jongin's ankle. “I have very masculine features for my race, I'll have you know,” he huffs.

“You're very masculine to me too,” Jongin says. “Doesn't change that you're still cute.”

Another tentacle tightens around Jongin's calf. “This is how we catch our prey before we eat them alive,” Kyungsoo says, a menacing glint in his eyes.

“You're still snuggling me with no pants on. I'm pretty sure that means we've just hit second base, if I may borrow a Primeling expression,” Jongin retorts, unflinching.

He loosens his grip at once, throwing his head back in mock disgust as he pulls back. “I can't  _ wear _ pants,” Kyungsoo grumbles.

“Have you tried?” Jongin asks, sounding curious.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo says, splaying out onto the ground. “They're too heavy. I trip.”

“That's adorable,” Jongin coos, catching himself and giving him an apologetic smile after. “I mean, that sucks, but also...I mean, it's still—”

“Don't say it—”

“It's precious,” Jongin finishes with a smirk.

Kyungsoo flicks a finger against Jongin's shiny teeth. “Don't threaten me,” he teases.

Jongin snaps his jaws playfully. His canines are razor sharp, of course, but they're barely larger than the rest of his teeth. Coupled with that goofy face, it's hard to actually feel scared. “We already hit second…” he says suggestively.

Kyungsoo gives him a confused look, waiting for more. When nothing comes, he makes a cycling motion with his hands. “...And?”

“So maybe we could...I don't know...go to first too?”

“You know I don't follow Primeling stuff like you do, right? I honestly have no clue what that means.”

“Well,” Jongin starts, pausing awkwardly as he purses his lips and decides how to explain it. “...Well, how do Pulpoans show affection? Or like...intimacy?” He gets a blank stare from Kyungsoo and sighs. “Like...we are similar to Primelings. We kiss. Like...we touch our lips together with other people's lips.”

“You do this with everyone?” Kyungsoo asks, intrigued at the thought.

“No, it's for like...special people,” Jongin says, his face scrunching up as he parses out how to give details on kissing etiquette. “Like people you like...romantically.”

“And who do you like romantically?” Kyungsoo asks, fluttering his limbs so he hovers in front of Jongin, to where they're on the same eye level. “Who do you want to kiss?” He bites down on his lower lip to repress a smirk as Jongin looks at him, trying to decide if he's kidding or not.

“Well, I was just saying since you hugged me while you're half naked, I might as well like...offer you something in return so you don't feel all put out,” Jongin says, eyes looking everywhere but Kyungsoo.

“So you want to kiss me?”

Jongin sighs dramatically, shuffling his feet around. “Or we can do whatever Pulpoans do, if you want to show me.”

He's never dated anyone else before. Kyungsoo's only experiences with Pulpoan romance comes from the holo dramas. “We kiss too, I think,” he says, frowning a bit as he tries to think of how to describe it. “Except it's not really lips to lips. That just sounds uncomfortable. It's more like lips to mantle cavity.”

Jongin stares at him in silence, momentarily dumbstruck. He shakes it off after a few seconds and crooks his head to the side. “...I think that's called rimming where we're from,” he says. “...And that's more of like...a third base thing.”

Kyungsoo shrugs.

“Let's…try it my way first?” Jongin offers.

“Sure, seal boy,” Kyungsoo says.

Jongin grabs the tentacle closest to him and tugs Kyungsoo back, supporting him as Kyungsoo wraps his limbs around Jongin's torso loosely. “Okay, so…” Jongin says nervously. He leans his head forward slowly, eyes locked on Kyungsoo's. Their noses touch, and Jongin closes his eyes and angles his head.

Kyungsoo isn't really sure if he's supposed to copy the motion or if maybe he should just….freeze. Let's just freeze. Jongin's upper lip tickles his own for an instant before his mouth makes full contact and molds to Kyungsoo's. It feels unnatural but Jongin's lips are soft, he supposes. It's nice if one can ignore that someone else's face is right up against their own. And then Jongin pulls away and opens his eyes, looking at him again expectantly. 

“How was it?” he asks.

“It was nice, I guess?” Kyungsoo says.

Jongin looks disappointed. “Oh.”

“How was it for you?”

A small shrug. “It was nice for me,” is the sulky answer.

“Here,” Kyungsoo says, cupping Jongin's face and turning it back to face his. “Let me try.”

“Wait,” Jongin says as he starts to close the distance between them again. The Arctocephan turns, stuffing his fingers into his mouth and trying to discreetly dig out the brace before looking back with a shy smile.

Interesting. Kyungsoo does the same, dropping the brace to one of his tentacles as he adjusts his hold on Jongin's shoulders. It still tickles at first touch. Jongin has little whiskers that are definitely not helping. But he juts his lower lip out, to press against Jongin's, and it actually feels kind of nice. Definitely easier to do without the braces in their mouths distracting them. Jongin pulls back minutely to tilt his head in a different direction, and presses in again. It's fun, feeling how Jongin's lower lip bounces if he opens his mouth just so.

They pull apart slowly. And now it's his turn to look expectantly at Jongin, awaiting feedback. 

Jongin's mouth opens and bubbles come out, all warbled noises and pops. He looks embarrassed and tilts back down, cramming the translator brace back into his mouth and tonguing it into place as Kyungsoo hurriedly does the same.

“ _ That _ was much nicer,” Jongin says.

It brings a proud smile to Kyungsoo's lips. “It was better than the first time.”

“That's not my fault, by the way, that was the braces,” Jongin says.

“Uh huh,” Kyungsoo taunts, breaking away and floating backward.

“It was!” Jongin continues, defending his attempt as he swims after Kyungsoo, trying to swipe at his tentacles only to find them  _ just  _ out of reach.

They reach the entrance, and Kyungsoo is forced to slow down to walk out of the gate properly. It's more difficult with tentacles. His musculature makes adjusting to the pressure change more difficult. Even with preparation, his legs wobble as he tries to right himself, but hands stabilize him before he can stumble. 

“You okay?” Jongin asks behind him, not letting go until Kyungsoo's firmly balanced.

“Yeah,” he answers, “thanks.” They stand over the grates until the water finishes wicking off their clothes. 

They pocket their braces and face each other again. He's looking down at his legs when he realizes they're _bright_ _pink_ and oh _no_ , that must mean Jongin can see that he's blushing all over now and _dammit_.

“I love that you're like a mood ring,” Jongin says, offering a hand for him to take.

“I don't know what that is,” Kyungsoo grumbles, accepting it with a huff.

“It's Primeling jewelry,” Jongin explains. “It's supposed to change color depending on how you feel.”

“So they made Pulpoan inspired jewelry,” Kyungsoo asks.

“Yeah, maybe?” Jongin squints as he considers this. “So I guess it's not you're like a mood ring, but that mood rings are...like you.”

“Thank you...by the way. For having us come here,” Kyungsoo says. “I wouldn't have ever come back here, I don't think.”

“You have every right to be here too.”

Kyungsoo pulls him back and leans in again. It's different this time without the water buffering their senses. The touch is much more striking. Jongin's lips give and push much... _ more _ . He has to step back after a minute, inhaling the wet air deeply.

“Wow,” Jongin says, a tongue darting out to lick his lower lip.

“Yeah, I think I'm just better at this kissing thing than you are,” Kyungsoo says with a confident smirk. 

“It was the  _ braces _ !” Jongin wails.


End file.
